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A cross-domain Web single sign-on fails if there is a small time difference between Active Directory Federation Services in Windows Server 2003 R2 systems and IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager

Article ID: 956279 - View products that this article applies to.

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SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario:

You configure Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) on a Windows Server 2003 R2-based computer to provide cross-domain Web single sign-on (SSO) interoperability with IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager (TFIM).
ADFS is the account side for the federation, and TFIM is the resource side for the federation.
The time of the ADFS server differs from the time of the TFIM server.

In this scenario, transactions between ADFS and TFIM fail.

Notes

In a TFIM-to-TFIM transaction, a registry entry is available for TFIM to change the allowed time difference between the account side and the resource side.
If TFIM is the account side and ADFS is the resource side, or in an ADFS-to-ADFS transaction, the allowed time difference between the account side and the resource side can be up to five minutes.

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A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows Server 2003 R2 on the computer

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

Additional configuration information

This hotfix makes the allowed time difference between the ADFS server and the TFIM server configurable. To configure this value, you can set a TokenIssuanceNotBeforeSkewInMinutes setting in the Web.config file. The value that you specify for the TokenIssuanceNotBeforeSkewInMinutes setting represents the number of minutes that are allowed for the time difference between the ADFS server and the TFIM server. This value can range from 0 to 10080 (seven days). For example, to set the allowed time difference to five minutes, add the following text anywhere between the <FederationServerConfiguration> tag and the </FederationServerConfiguration> tag:

<TokenIssuanceNotBeforeSkewInMinutes>5</TokenIssuanceNotBeforeSkewInMinutes>

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.